Investigation of vibration and rotation multifunctional sensors based on the triboelectric effect

Abstract

Studies show that to monitor the status of a rotating device accurately, vibration and rotation should be monitored simultaneously. In this regard and based on the effects of triboelectricity and electrostatic induction, a multifunctional sensor (MS) with a rotating-sleeve structure and two independent sensitive units is proposed in the present study. Nylon fabric and polytetrafluoroethylene film are used in the sensitive units, and the bounce of the copper ball on the sandwich elastic sensitive layer is used to determine the vibration level. Then theoretical analysis and finite element simulations are carried out to study the charge transfer characteristics of the sensor. It is found that the MS can truly reflect the vibration and rotation characteristics of the rotating device. Moreover, experiments are carried out and the obtained results show that the detection range of the sensor and its sensitivity are 0–36 m s−2, and 40.38 mV s2 m−1, respectively. It is concluded that the proposed MS can accurately identify the vibration frequency. The obtained results demonstrate that at rotation speeds of up to 2000 rpm, this MS can be used to measure the direction of rotation, speed, and angular acceleration with a relative error of less than 0.95%. Considering the superior characteristics of the proposed MS, it can be used to monitor the motion state of objects in real-time and has potential application prospects in the field of internet of things.